The American Education System; Cause for Rebellion
If America's Schools are to meet the needs of the twenty first century,
they must be reinvented. It is not enough to try to fix the schools; they must
be reconstructed in both fundamental and radical ways. The school system must
be restructured. The future of the American public school system is
significant because the maintenance of an informed and productive citizenry is
vital to the future of this country. Historically Americans have strongly
asserted the importance of public schools in a democracy and despite growing
disdain for the perceived value of the school system, public schools remain
central to democracy in the United States.
For more than a century, America's public schools have been an
indispensable source of the country's strength. Public education has allowed
citizens to become productive members of society by providing them with the
skills and knowledge necessary for the labor force. Schools prepare students to
be literate, informed and reasoning citizens. According to Philip Schlechty,
author of Schools for the twenty-first century, “Public schools are the ties
that bind this pluralistic society into a nation. Our Nation's thirty-sixth
president, Lyndon B. Johnson, also believed that there is no institution more
fundamental to American society and democracy than its public schools.”(36)
Public schools are the cornerstone of America's future. The development
of youth's knowledge, skills and social dispositions has always been critical to
the country's success. In the next century, America's youth will play an
increasingly important role in the country's survival and well-being. By the
year 2025, one out of five Americans will be 65 or older, and by the year 2040,
one out of four Americans will be 65. In less than 15 years, the first baby
boomers will reach the age of 65 (Peterson 64). It is clear that the economic
success of America will be in the hands of youth to unprecedented extent. It is
time to invest in education in order to maintain the American way of life.
In the competitive knowledge-based world of the twenty-first century,
the education of America's youth will be more important than ever. More
responsibility will be placed on schools because of greater diversity in
classrooms, languages, preparedness, motivation, and the dynamics of the future
workplace. Schools also must assume more responsibility because of increasing
enrollment. Entering the 1996-1997 school year, there is an all time high
enrollment of 51.7 million students in public schools throughout the country
(Good 6). Because of enhanced enrollment and technological advances, there is
more material that needs to be taught if students are to be competitive and
productive in the future job market.
...ady closed plenty of schools that have torn communities apart, taken away jobs, and gave promises that cannot be kept. If Arne Duncan can reform his reform, then there may be some hope left for the aftermath of what has been Renaissance 2010.
The United States has proven to be a world leader with their powerful military, democratic government, and stringent foreign policies. There is one category however, the United States struggles to be number one in, education. As shocking as this may sound, the public school system in America is not superior to other developing countries. I have witnessed this scandalous phenomena firsthand, engrossed in the public school system from kindergarten to freshman year of high school. The student body and the school administration is morphing into a nonproductive system with a zombie-like attitude. American students lack academic drive and curiosity compared to European and Asian countries because the standard for academic success is constantly lowered. Americans must reform the school system and change their perspective on how important an education is to the rest of the world.
The young people are now able to embrace the constitution and civic education courtesy of the 26th amendment. Most of the 18-year olds become more responsible and start acting as adults who put matters of national concern into great consideration. The young people are able to exchange nationalistic ideas and come up with solutions to some of the matters affecting the nation. The flexibility of the constitution has inspired patriotism especially from the younger generations who identify with it because it is tailored to cater for their ever-changing needs and challenges. Many of the young people are able to participate in measures taken by the government in times of calamity such as hurricanes through volunteering as rescuers or giving contributions to the people affected by such
Education did not form part of the life of women before the Revolutionary War and therefore, considered irrelevant. Women’s education did not extend beyond that of what they learned from their mothers growing up. This was especially true for underprivileged women who had only acquired skills pertaining to domesticity unlike elite white women during that time that in addition to having acquired domestic skills they learned to read a result becoming literate. However, once the Revolutionary War ended women as well as men recognized the great need for women to obtain a greater education. Nonetheless, their views in regards to this subject differed greatly in that while some women including men believed the sole purpose of educating women was in order to better fulfil their roles and duties as wives and mothers others believed the purpose of education for women was for them “to move beyond the household field.” The essays of Benjamin Rush and Judith Sargent Murray provide two different points of view with respects to the necessity for women to be well educated in post-revolutionary America.
The greatest country in the world still has problems evenly distributing education to its youth. The articles I have read for this unit have a common theme regarding our education system. The authors illustrate to the reader about the struggles in America concerning how we obtain and education. Oppression, politics, racism, and socioeconomic status are a few examples of what is wrong with our country and its means of delivering a fair education to all Americans.
Jacobsen, L. A., Kent, M., Lee, M., & Mather, M. (2001). America's aging population. Population Bulletin, 66(1).
The United States of America has placed low on the educational ladder throughout the years. The cause of such a low ranking is due to such heavy emphasis on standardized testing and not individual student achievement. Although the United States uses standardized testing as a crutch, it is not an effective measure of a student’s ability, a teacher’s competency, or a school’s proficiency.
An aging population is indeed a problem for the society and will possibly cause many social and economic difficulties in the future. According to David Foot (2003), professor of Economics at University of Toronto, an effective birth rate of 2.2% against current 1.75% will be necessary to replace the current work force in the near future and the government’s policy of bringing in more immigrants will eventually fail (Foot, 2003, 2). However some people predict that the increased size of an aging population will drive growth in the home, health care, and many other industries resulting in job creation and economic growth (Marketwire, 2013, 1). Majority of the people are of the opinion that the issue will be mainly in the health care and economic activity. As humans age, they start to develop health problems, leading to more visits to a medical clinic putting extra burden on health care system.
...ting a new curriculum. The system needs an entire restructuring, from the top to the bottom.
“If you would just get up and teach them instead of handing them a packet. There’s kids in here that don’t learn like that. They need to learn face to face. I’m telling you what you need to do. You can’t expect a kid to change if all you do is just tell ‘em.” Texas student, Jeff Bliss, decided to take a stand against the lack of teaching going on in his class (Broderick).
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the American educational system has undergone much transition in response to our changing society. Though there have been many problems raised throughout the years in regard to what our school systems should be teaching our children, there have also been many developments.
There has been an increase in high paying jobs that require young people to have a higher education in developing countries that are enhancing and integrating to global economy. Technology is another factor that is becoming more prevalent in these under developed countries. It’s becoming less common for young people to go out and do agricultural work to support the family financially, as many parents rather support and make it easier for their children to go to school. These entire factors can eventually open up all the possibilities for more and more emerging adults to experience life and explore their independence, as countries become wealthier chances are that more young people can go to school and move in to a dorm and have a semi independent lifestyle until they reach adulthood. This can benefit our future generations to come and potentially increase the life expectancy and become achievable adults that live a longer and prosperous life. This will be a new evolution for the young people now and the young people to come, this means more educated people, which call change the way our jobs, economy, and development of our countries can be. More young people will explore their horizons and develop to be the best they can be instead of being forced to work a full time low paying job and hit a dead end. Perhaps one day the new
The future of healthcare will largely be affected by the changing demographics in the United States. Halaweish & Alam (2015), suggest by 2050 1 in 5 Americans will be 65 years or older, an increase from the current 1 in 9 Americans. In addition to the increase in aging adults, the oldest Americans, those 85 and older will also demonstrate a significant
These generations of young people are the future, not only of the United States of America but also of the world. Young people will bring change and will hopefully make the world a better place. However, they cannot make the future a brighter place if they are disheartened at a young age from trying to achieve the impossible. It is society’s responsibilities to make the future better and for humanity to move forward and this cannot happen if all the millennials and those belonging to Generation Z are pessimistic because they were not able to achieve their own dream due to the circumstances in America. In order for everyone to have a bright future to look forward to the youth of today needs to have the opportunities to achieve their
There are many social problems plaguing the world, including the issue of aging inequality and elders. This social problem is significant because the baby boomers of the 1946-64s are now starting to be the youngest old. Our society is starting to, and needs to, change to accommodate the needs of the elderly. There are many different problems coming with this making people have many political viewpoints, theoretical perspectives, and solutions for this social problem. Baby boomers are a group of people that were born between the years of 1946 and 1964. Just nine months after WW II ended people were having babies at rates higher than ever before. In the year 1946 there were 3.4 million babies were born, nearly 20% more than the prior year. This